Home Grown Goodness

There's a farmer's market 15 minutes from our house that we finally made our first appearance at yesterday. (There really are endless possibilities for things to do where we live. Thankfully many of them are free or at least really affordable.) Not only is there fresh produce and fresh baked goods, there is a 100 year old trolley that we can ride on every Thursday and Saturday for $2! (Sam can ride free until he turns 4!!!!) I only had quarters and a couple dollar bills in my pocket, yet we came home with fresh honey wheat bread, beef jerky, and chocolate beards from a giant oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. More importantly of course, we came home with fun stories to tell Daddy and memories to treasure.



Me and the boys. (Julia stayed home with Daddy.)

"Camping" by the numbers

15 - the number of minutes it took me to put up our big tent by myself (Brian isn't going to be there next weekend so I need to be able to manage the tent on my own.)


8 - the number of books that Sam brought in the tent to read before bed

2 - the number of times I read each of those stories


3 - the number of times Brian got pummeled by Sam because of bouncing on the bed during story time


1,000 - the number of times Sam jumped on the air mattress I had for us to sleep on


2 - the number of trips I made into the house to get more stuff (toilet paper, pack-n-play)

4 - the number of times I put Sam in the pack-n-play because he wouldn't settle down

3- the number of hours it took for Sam to fall asleep (ended up in the pack-n-play)

4 - the number of hours of sleep we got before Sam woke up and begged to go in the house
2:45 - the numbers on the clock when I crawled into my own bed
5:00 - the numbers on that same clock when Julia woke up

Despite the trouble getting Sam to sleep (I can't blame him, it was really bright out until after nine), we did have fun camping in the backyard. I learned a few things that will be helpful for next weekend.
1) Put Sam in the pack-n-play right after stories
2) Have both kids wear sleep sacks for warmth
3) Put the tent in a place as far away from activity as possible because of noise (the neighborhood kids were up well past nine last night)
4) Wear them out during the day so they colapse into bed at the end of the day
5) Bring LOTS of books so I don't have to read each book 4-5 times in one weekend
6) Make the best of it - I don't think I'll be getting much sleep since I didn't even have Julia in the tent with me! (no trial run for her tonight - I'm way too tired)

Trial Run

Sam and I are sleeping in a tent in the backyard tonight in an attempt to be more prepared for our family reunion trip next weekend. Will I get any sleep? I guess I'll find out!
Goodnight everyone.

Prayer Request

My childhood friend Owen contracted Lyme's Disease while hiking in the Ice Age Trail in Wisconsin earlier this summer. I learned this morning that he's experiencing complications with his heart as a result. He and his wife, Staci, have three young children - Virginia (4), Joseph (2), and Moriah (8 months). Would you please join me in praying for him and his family?

A few details on his condition per a conversation with Staci a few minutes ago:

His heart rate dropped to 20 beats per minute on Friday and he was experiencing 3rd degree heart block. Basically that means that his heart was beating, but the top and bottom half weren't communicating with each other. After a few days with a temporary pacemaker his heart rate is improving. He's still experiencing a 1st degree heart block and his heart rhythm has not returned to normal yet. Praise God that he's able to go home from the hospital today! Specific prayer requests: That Owen's heart rhythm would return to normal and the whole lack of health insurance issue will be resolved.

Owen and I on a kayak trip in Voyageurs National Park.

Wordless Wednesday - My sisters

Happy 21st birthday Katie! (She's the one on the left.)

Bzzzzzzzzzz

(That's the sound of the clippers getting ready to give Sam his very first buzz cut.)

He was looooooooong overdue for a haircut and after a steamy morning of listening to the Teddy Bear Band and playing on the playground with Kieran and Isaac I decided that today was the day.



I used a gift certificate left over from Christmas to get Sammy and I a Dairy Queen treat on our way home. "That was yummy ice cream for Sammy", he said as we walked back to the car.

Cast your vote

I'm at it again and this time the kids have a fighting chance at winning because there aren't thousands of other entries in the Kissaluvs photo contest. I could enter up to five pictures and so that's what I did, but to increase my chances of winning I should probably have put all my eggs in one basket. I think this one is the best (and it would give both kids the chance to be published).



and these are the other four submissions


The judges get half the say in who wins and the other half is decided on the number of votes from friends and family. The picture with the highest overall score wins a $100 gift certificate and gets their photo published in their catalog and/or website. To see Sam and/or Julia in print cast your vote here. Note: If you want to view the pictures you can do that from the "view entries" page or by clicking on the name next to the dot to view the pictures on the voting page.

Voting is open from July 16th through July 20th and it's super easy! I just voted twice in only 5 seconds. Two clicks of the mouse and that's it!

Mommy Talk

This week mommies are talking about the sacrifices we have made as a SAHM or a Working Moms. Share your story too!

In the three short years that I've been a mom I've been a working mom, SAHM, and a WAHM so except for putting my kids in daycare I've done a little of everything. When Sam was 4 weeks old I started taking him to my nanny job with me. I feel like Sam was the one who had to make sacrifices in that situation. He had to share his mom and leave the house at 6:30 every morning. After a year of being away from home 11 hours a day I cut back my workload to two 12 hour days. That was a fun time for us. Enough money was coming in, but I still had 5 days a week where Sam could sleep in and we could do whatever we wanted. When I got really sick with my second pregnancy I resigned and stayed home to get my strength back. Financially it was a terrible decision, but I was able to spend quality time with Sam and do all the fun stay at home activities like play dates and kids concerts, as well as the housework that never got done when I was gone from 6:30-6:30 every day. We desperately needed more money coming in to cover our expenses so I started my own daycare. It has it's ups and downs. While it's great to not commute anywhere and still have an income, it's nowhere near enough to keep us ahead of the game. I think that is the biggest stress I carry every day as a mom. We cut corners wherever we can, but it never seams like enough. If I brought 5 more daycare clients into our home I could make a boatload of money, but I wouldn't be able to be there for my kids the way I want to. Since reading, painting, tickling, hugging, exploring, learning, loving, snuggling, singing, talking, dancing, and tons of other mommy time activities make up my days, I try to give my worries to the Lord and cherish these exciting first years with my children.

Photo courtesy of Jennifer McKinney photography

Blogging LIVE

I had the privilege of meeting many of Jennifer's friends and their children today at her 30th birthday party. Some of these friends have their own blogs that I admit, I read daily. It was very surreal to be talking to these cool people in person. It felt like a real, live blogging session. Rachel is even more beautiful in person and like Yvette said, it feels like we are already friends even though we've only talked in person one other time for a few minutes. Then there's the kids; Ava, who liked to ask me if I was Julia's mama, and sweet Cosette sitting so pretty in her bold colored sun dress. Henri was busy in the sandbox like only an almost 3 1/2 year old can be. Isaac, Hilary son, was off playing in the house with the many other children who were there. I met other friends too -Steph, Brittany, Owen's mom, and a few others I can't remember the names of.

I just love this picture. We are always busy photographing the kids and keeping the peace between our boys that there's never a chance for a picture of us. Thank you Hilary for snapping the very first picture I have of us and thank you Jennifer for a fun afternoon!

Hiking together as a family. Hot and buggy, but it was wonderful to be doing something we love.

BYOT (Bring Your Own Treats)

Our town hosts an ice cream social and kids concert on the square every summer. We went last year and learned that it's not worth standing in line for the entire concert to get a measly little cup of ice cream. This year we got smart. We brought our own!





But first we took Sam's new kite to the park to show Daddy how well it flies.







The Splatter Sisters were entertaining until the sugar from the ice cream sandwiches kicked in and Sam got too wild.

Julia didn't know what she was missing. She happily chowed down her millet porridge with ground kidney beans and avocado.







There's nothing better than free entertainment and $1.64 for a box of ice cream sandwiches to kick off the weekend.

Old School

Sam's playgroup met at a nearby park this morning. The kids played tether ball and hop-scotch. All that was missing to complete a trip down memory lane was a ball to play four square with. I haven't played those games since junior high.







This is the building where I went to Junior High back in my hometown of Cambridge, WI. (It was built in 1906.) Over on my high school blog I try to do a Flashback Friday post about something from our school days. It's worked out rather nicely today that I can "kill two birds with one stone" by doing this post about childhood games and then linking my other blog to this one. Now if I could only be that efficient in my housework. :)

Today's lunch special is....

Julia.


Now doesn't that sound yummy?

The Crying Quartet to perform at 5:00

I'm not sure if I should be happy that one kid's wails is drowning out the sound of the other kids crying or if I should just give in and shed a few tears of my own.

Wordless Wednesday - Quack Quack

This little ducky had forgotten what rain looked like - we hadn't seen any in a month!

Let's go fly a kite!

This wasn't part of our plan today. A trip to the library for a magic show and to pick out new books, followed by a quick stop at the place I buy raw milk, and finishing our morning at a park was going to keep us plenty busy, but when the weatherman says "20-30mph winds today" we decided to squeeze a bit more fun out of our morning. I remembered there's a great toy store right by the library so we walked over and picked out a new kite. Sam was too excited to eat his lunch and kept begging me to put the kite together.

Sam had to sit on it so it wouldn't blow away before we were ready to send it up to the clouds.
(See how the wind is blowing Julia's hat back?)

Julia loved the bright colors.


Way to go Sam!


Hold on tight!!!


A special thank you to Jennifer who surprised me with a "paid in full" milk order that allowed me to use my cash to get Sam and Julia their first kite!

July 9th's Mommy Talk Question: Your biggest challenge of motherhood: how things were when baby was first born, how things changed as time went on and what type of challenges are you facing right now?


Where do I begin on this one? Sleep deprivation is an obvious challenge as a new mom and I went through it with both kids, but for different amounts of time. Sam was 14 months old before he slept through the night while Julia was sawing z's for 10+ hours at time at 6 1/2 months. Breastfeeding is also usually a big issue and I'm so thankful that after the first month with Sam I finally got the hang of it thanks to sheer determination and assistance from the lactation consultants from the hospital. Julia on the other hand was a nursing champ one minute after she was born. Sam had some some problems with constant respiatory infections starting around 6 months so we used a nebulizer for quite a while. He's outgrown that and we no longer need to medicate him. Praise God!
Our current issues revolve around sibling rivalry. It is a constant battle in our house trying to keep Sam from tackling or taking toys away from Julia. I'm reading "Siblings Without Rivalry" but haven't gotten far enough into it to see any tangible strategies to apply.
The other thing on our plate right now is potty training. After reading the escapades JMom is going through training her adorable triplets, I have nothing to complain about. In fact, (don't shoot me for saying this!) it's been pretty easy. As I write this my love seat cover is sitting in the washer because of an "accident" so it hasn't been a completely smooth ride. Nighttime is the worse for us. We'll put Sam in his crib and the second we cover him with his blanket he pops up to say he needs to poop. How can we say no to that? Now he's got us figured out and milks it for all it's worth. The problem is that half the time he really does need to poop. This can't go on forever right?

Do you have any challenges as a mom you'd like to share? Join us!

I'm not writing this to brag about my husband. I'm writing it so Sam can see what a great role model his dad is.

Brian has always been a big help to me with the household chores. He takes out the garbage, mows the lawn, puts clothes in the washer, empties the potty chair, and any other task I ask him to do(as long as I write it down). Yesterday he outdid himself. While I was at church singing on the worship team, he was at home with both kids. He washed most of the baby food making dishes, reloaded the dishwasher, and put a load of clothes in the washer. (He even remembered to use the correct water temp!)

Before we put the kids to bed he ran the vacuum and took out the trash. It took three hours to get Julia to sleep last night because she has a cold so my plan of folding a mountain of laundry had to be abandoned. My dear, sweet husband took it upon himself to not only fold 4 large baskets of clothes, but to also put his portion away. He did all this in the sweltering heat of our upstairs bedroom.

Thank you Brian for helping me and for giving our son someone to look up to. I love you!

I found a website where I can make my own polls - PERFECT for getting input on which picture to submit of Julia. (The pictures are posted under Friday, July 6th) Click on "You be the Judge" in the archives or scroll down a few posts to see them.

Which picture do you think shows the "best face appeal and modeling ability?
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pollcode.com free polls

Yesterday was hot so we went to the splash pad with Jennifer and her kids.
Julia had the right idea - stay as wet as possible.

Before I knew how hot it was going to be, my plan for today was to turn this:


into this:




Thankfully it went faster because I had help. Really, he was helpful.
He washed the turnips and potatoes, put plums in the blender, and handed me beans so I could cut them into bite size pieces.

"Look Mom, it kinda looks like a U!" and my personal favorite: "This one kinda looks like a garden hose."

With all the assistance from Brian and Sam we were able to get some relief from the heat at the pool - just in time to see this during the car ride over there:


It was nice to have Daddy along.


This'll do the trick - give Daddy a shower


Beating the heat is fun!


Boys vs. Girls



You're smiling now, but wait until you get back into the car and see this...


YUCK!